


I Know A Thousand Tales

by memoriesaremine, shipsthatcouldshowyouthestars



Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid, The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: Angst, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Implied making out, Snippets, one shots, some o our cutest and funniest moments
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:15:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27585301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/memoriesaremine/pseuds/memoriesaremine, https://archiveofourown.org/users/shipsthatcouldshowyouthestars/pseuds/shipsthatcouldshowyouthestars
Summary: kat and liv oneshots: a definitive ranking by us from all of our docs
Relationships: Becky Barnes/Tom Houston, Charlotte/Ted (The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals), Lex Foster/Ethan Green, OC/Grace Chastity, OC/Lex Foster, OC/OC, Paul Matthews/Emma Perkins
Comments: 9
Kudos: 4





	1. Intro

hi everyone !!!

kat and liv here :)

so we were just chatting in the comments of on of ourdocs, and we realized we have a lot of favorite oneshots that don't relaly have somewhere to go, so this is what this is for!

TWs will be added, as well as tags, as we go on!! thakn you :)


	2. Something They Forgot To Tell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noel and Grace arrive at the Foster-Green residence to find that Ethan and Lex have been hiding something kind of important

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Friendly co-author liv here!! 
> 
> So I think at the beginning of every chapter we'll provide a little bit of context so that y'all have at least some idea of what goes on in our brains, but we'll try to keep the snippets self-contained enough to at least make some sense!! that being said if you need clarification just comment 
> 
> So, for context, this is from one of our,,,,several,,,,Percy Jackson AUs, and more specifically follows the general plotline of The Titan's Curse. Lex and Ethan are adults, around 23, and live outside of Camp Half Blood in San Francisco. 
> 
> OC time!! 
> 
> Noel: Kat's (@justasidekick) OC, daughter of Zeus and Grace's girlfriend. In this AU she's been really close with Lex and Ethan for a long time 
> 
> David: David Chastity, an adapted version of my OC, Noel's childhood friend and Grace's twin brother. He's the one missing in this AU and is only mentioned.
> 
> No huge TWs to mention besides a short discussion of injury

Noel hadn’t even realized she’d fallen asleep until Grace shook her good shoulder, sunlight streaming through the window of the train.

“Good morning, love,” Grace said softly, running her fingers through Noel’s hair as she groaned. “We’re in San Francisco.” 

“San Fran?” Noel whispered. “I feel like shit. How close are we to Lex and E?”

“Don’t know,” Grace said. “I’ve got the address, we can check once we get off the train.” 

“Yeah,” Noel nodded, getting up and grabbing her bag. “Our favorite god came and visited. Your like mentor dude. Apollo.” 

“I know,” Grace said. “I could….feel it. What did he say?” She ran her thumb over Noel’s knuckles. “Anything about Davey?” 

“We gotta outsmart the General.” Noel whispered as they walked down the hallway. “That’s what we have to do. We didn’t talk much about the quest. Dad was kinda being on him about even helping us in the first place.” 

“Fuckin Zeus,” Grace muttered. 

“But we talked about you and he told you to stop falling asleep at your easel.” Noel grinned, kissing her cheek as she walked down. “By his  _ royal decree _ .”

“Damn it, Apollo,” Grace giggled a bit and rolled her eyes up at the sky. Noel knew Grace liked Apollo. 

“And he doesn’t seem to care that, you know, we’re dating.”

“Yeah, he and I talked about it a while back, when I first, y’know, starting getting a major crush on you,” Grace laughed. “He said that if gods were allowed to, um, well, I won’t use his exact words, then I should certainly be allowed to.” 

“That’s good,” Noel said, squeezing her hand as they reached the outside of the train station. She spotted Ethan’s car and she gasped. “Ethan’s here!” 

Noel and Grace ran to the car and Noel jumped into the passenger seat. “E!” 

“Hey, Ellie.” Ethan reached over from the driver’s seat and gave her a hug. Noel didn’t want to let go. She’d missed Ethan’s hugs. 

“Hey,” Noel whispered. “I missed you.”

“Missed you too, kiddo,” Ethan murmured, kissing the top of her head before he pulled away. He turned to say hello to Grace in the backseat. “Hi.”

“Hey,” Grace gave him a soft smile. “Thanks for the ride.” 

“Anything for you guys,” Ethan smiled. “Ellie, seatbelt on.” 

“Okay.” Noel buckled herself in. “I’m ready to go.” 

“Cool,” Ethan said as he started the car. “So, let’s get back to my house and on the way, you guys can tell me what’s going on, yeah?” 

Grace told most of the story. Noel was both too excited and too out of it to talk. Ethan listened as he drove through San Francisco. 

“Shit,” was all he said when Grace told him about Noel’s dream. His brow furrowed with concern as she told him about Owen and what Aphrodite had said. 

“But Aphrodite did give us tacos. Sure, they were from Taco Bell, and I wanted to throw up on her, but like, I got fed.”

“Do those count as food?” Ethan asked. “Like, really?”

“Hypothetically, yeah.” Noel shrugged. “Not nutritious, but I’d been eating like shit anyway.”

“Well, we’ll get you some real food when we get back to our place,” Ethan promised. 

“You know what I want.” Noel grinned at him, about to make his life a living hell. 

“I know you want Mac and Cheese and Dino Nuggets,” Ethan said. “I am aware you are a child.” 

Grace stifled a laugh in the background. Noel just smiled. 

“Thank you, E.” She grinned. “And you encourage the child behavior.”

He just reached over and messed up her hair as he pulled onto a side street. 

“Oh, um, I should mention,” he said, slowing the car down. “We have….someone else living with us now.” 

“Oh?” Noel asked. “I didn’t know that.”

“You’ll see,” Ethan said, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. 

Noel stopped in her tracks as Lex met them at the door, holding a small thing wrapped in a blanket. The cloth burrito began to squirm around and make noises as Noel’s jaw dropped. 

“Hold on, hold on.” She pointed at it. “That’s a….that’s a baby. You have a baby. Oh my gods you have a baby.” She nearly squealed. “That’s a baby! What the hell? You didn’t tell me that!”

“Surprise,” Ethan bit his lip to hide his laughter. 

“You had a whole baby and just didn’t tell me in any of our calls?” She looked at Lex. 

“We wanted to tell you in person.” Lex handed the baby off to Ethan so she could hug Noel and Grace. Noel saw something glinting on her finger that definitely had not been there last time. 

“And that’s a fucking ring!” Noel grabbed her hand. “You two just kept everything from me?” She pouted. “I used to be the first one to know  _ all  _ your personal information.” She whined like a little kid. After all, she was like their first born at this rate. 

“I wanted to tell you!” Ethan put his hands up. “But Lexie insisted we wait until we saw you in person so she could see your reaction.” 

“You're so mean.” Noel whined to Lex, but still pulled her in for a hug. 

“It was 100% worth it,” Lex said, wrapping her arms around Noel and holding her tightly. “How you doing? I missed you, Ellie.” 

“I’m doing.” Noel said softly. “I missed you, Lexie.” She held on for a lot longer than was probably wanted. She needed the emotional support. “Like, a lot.” 

Lex didn’t let go until Noel pulled away, after a really long time. 

“Oh, wait, Lexie, this is Grace. I don’t know if you know her.” She showed off Grace. 

“Ethan told me about you.” Lex shook Grace’s hand with a smile. “Nice to finally meet you.” 

“Nice to meet you too,” Grace said, blushing a bit. She looked a little nervous and Noel squeezed her hand. 

“Why don’t you guys come inside and sit down,” Lex said. “And yes, Ellie. We have Dino Nuggets. And no we didn’t buy them for Natasha.” 

“Fuck yeah,” Noel grinned. “Dino nuggets as our first sustainable, not Taco Bell, meal.” She bumped Grace’s hip. 

“Taco Bell?” Lex raised an eyebrow. 

“Oh, yeah, we talked to your favorite goddess.” Noel grinned. “She almost made me cry in the Taco Bell though.”

“Ugh.” Lex made a face. “ _ Fuck  _ her.”

“But, like, Apollo came and got us to San Fran.” Noel said. 

Lex held her hand up. “I want to hear everything, Ellie, but let’s get out of the street first. The apartment’s enchanted to protect us from monsters.” 

“Oh, wait, yeah, you’re right.” Noel nodded. Two Big Three kids standing in the road might be a hotspot for monsters. Lex opened the door for them and Noel let Grace, Ethan, and baby Natasha in first. Lex ushered Noel in afterwards, and then shut the door behind them. 

The apartment was nice. It wasn’t huge, but it was big for San Francisco. Photos of their time at Camp Half-Blood, several featuring Noel, hung up all over the walls, and Noel smiled at them. She liked them. 

“Hey, there’s me,” Noel smiled, pointing to one of her napping on Ethan during one of the Fourth of July celebrations. 

“Nah, that’s a gremlin,” Ethan said, tousling her hair. Noel punched him in the arm. Lex held Natasha now, trying to stop her from tugging on her hair. Noel smiled over at the scene before another one of the photos caught her eye. 

It was one of her and David at about age twelve. It was right before Ethan disappeared. She’d beat him up the lava wall. He was the first kid she ever beat. Ethan had claimed he’d let her win, but Lex had promised she’d beaten him fair and square. She was sticking her tongue out in the photo. David had his arms wrapped around her neck, giggling. His glasses had slid halfway off his face. She looked away and back to Natasha. 

“How old is she?” Noel asked. 

“Three months,” Lex said softly. Natasha’s eyes were fluttering open and shut as she leaned her head on her mother’s shoulder. 

“She’s adorable.” Noel said quietly. 

“Thanks,” Lex said, rocking Natasha gently. “I think so too.” 

“I would hope you do, that’s your child.”

“Very funny,” Lex said. She kissed Natasha’s head very gently. 

“I’ll go put her down while the girls fill you in,” Ethan offered. He’d just come back from putting Noel’s dino nuggets in the oven. 

“Alright,” Lex passed her over. Ethan smiled softly as his daughter settled in his arms. Noel collapsed onto the couch, pulling a purple blanket around her and snuggling up. “Thanks, babe.” 

“Mhm,” Ethan hummed quietly. He readjusted the blanket so it covered Natasha better before he carried her out of the room. Lex smiled after him. 

“So when’s the next baby coming?” Noel teased. 

“Well, we have two, including you,” Lex nudged her lightly, sitting next to her. “So we’ll see.” She pulled Noel close and let her snuggle up to her. “So, tell me about this quest. ‘We’re coming to California, can we borrow your car?’ Wasn’t very descriptive.”

“Well…” Noel glanced back at the photo of her and David on the wall. “Owen’s involved.” 

“I thought he was dead.” Lex frowned. “I dropped the  _ entire  _ Labyrinth on him, and it didn’t kill him?” She shook her head. “But, anyway, keep going, Ellie.” 

“Well, apparently, he’s not.” Noel tensed on instinct. “Lex, he’s got Artemis….and….and Davey.” She swallowed and Lex gently rubbed her back. “Both of them. And he’s working with, um, a not ideal person.”

“Shit,” Lex said softly. “So you’re trying to get them back?” 

“Yeah.” Noel nodded and Lex rubbed her arm gently. “Aphrodite and Apollo are trying to help, but, um we only have till tomorrow night until….well, I don't know exactly what’s going to happen tomorrow night, but it’s, um, it’s really bad.” She rubbed her face. 

“Anything involving Owen usually is,” Lex scoffed. Noel recoiled out of instinct. She spent a lot of time denying Owen’s betrayal before she realized it had really happened and it wasn’t a nightmare. 

“Sorry,” Lex said quickly. She put a hand on Noel’s arm. “We’ll get David back, I promise.” 

“Mhm,” Noel nodded tiredly. She was so tired. So sick of fighting. “Can I take a quick nap?”

“Sleep as long as you need to,” Lex said softly. “We can talk about the quest after you rest.” Noel gave her a thumbs-up and fell asleep resting on Lex. Grace watched. 

“She’s really happy to see you,” She promised Lex. “Just exhausted.”

“I know she is,” Lex said. “Kid doesn’t ever sleep.” 

“Believe me, I know,” Grace said with a bit of a laugh. “I try to get her to sleep, but sometimes….the nightmares, y’know?” 

“She has them a lot. Depends if it’s a real demigod one or a trauma one,” Lex murmured as Noel snored softly. “She used to sleep either with me or Ethan. Every night. Without fail.” 

“I’m not surprised,” Grace said softly. “She talks about you two all the time. She thinks really highly of both of you.” 

“I’m glad,” Lex said. “Does she sleep sometimes, at least? Once, when E and I had a quest, she didn’t sleep the entire time we were gone.”

Grace winced. “Yeah, sounds like Ellie. I don’t think she’d sleep at all if I didn’t make her. Davey and I…” She winced slightly at saying her brother’s name. “We tag team it sometimes. He makes her eat, I make her sleep.” 

“E and I did the same. When we were 16. She snuck out on a quest with us.”

“Did she?” Grace raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never heard this story.” 

“She was scared to be away from E, and she wanted to also be cool like us and save the world. She was ten, but you know, she’s small. She’s the size of a seven-year-old at age ten.”

“She could just hide under some blankets and you’d never know.” Grace chuckled. 

“She hid in the back of the van that dropped us at the train station.” Lex ran her fingers through Noel’s hair. “Ethan and I were livid at first. But then we liked having an extra person along. She was tiny but she packed a punch.”

“Aphrodite did mention her coming along.” Grace tilted her head. “She said the quest made Noel one of her favorites.” 

“Yeah, Noel fought off some fucking monsters in St. Louis. And, because she snuck off, E and I were hellbent on working together to keep her alive. Her endgame was get us together.” Lex wrinkled her nose. “Aphrodite told me I was one of her ‘favorites’ too. I really don't like her much.” 

Grace tilted her head, asking the silent question. 

“It’s a long story,” Lex said softly. “But, long story short, we all kinda bonded on our quest. We’ve been looking out for her ever since.” She let Noel lay her head on her lap. “She almost died in St. Louis. That’s what really started it actually. That’s when her shoulder got hurt.”

“What happened?” Grace tilted her head. 

“Well, we took the train to St. Louis. That’s all we had the money for. So we get off at the St. Louis arch, and that’s when we run into the Furies.” Lex sighed. “You know the Furies, right?” 

“Yeah,” Grace said. “Hades’ hench….ladies?” 

“That’s probably a decent description,” Lex agreed. “So, anyway, the Furies are dead convinced we’re coming to sabotage Hades or something, I don’t know, and they attack. They’re dead set on Ethan, and they go after him, but Noel jumped in the way. The Fury’s whip dislocated her shoulder. Never healed quite right.” 

“Did ambrosia not help it?”

“Nothing has. David tried but it never healed right even with his help.” Lex shrugged. “Maybe it’s because it was from a Fury’s whip and it had special powers or something. Whatever it is, the pain lessened, but sometimes it flares up again.” She chuckled a bit. “Ethan must have given her a two hour lecture after that.” 

“Does he lecture her a lot?” Grace raised an eyebrow, a smile tugging at her lips. 

  
“Whenever she does something stupid,” Lex grinned. “So, about once a week.” 

“Ellie never told me the story about her shoulder.” Grace said softly. 

“She’s so modest about it,” Lex shook her head a bit. “But defeating three Furies by yourself at the age of ten isn’t an easy thing to do. That’s when I really knew how strong she was. That was also the day she was claimed.” She smiled down at Noel. “She also doesn’t like thinking about that quest.”

“I wouldn’t either,” Grace admitted. 

“She just really got attached to E and I after. Especially when Owen...and the Labyrinth.” 

“I only know a little about Owen,” Grace said quietly. “Ellie and Davey….they hate when he comes up in conversation. Ellie especially.” 

“Owen took Noel in when she was six. She got to camp at seven. Owen betrayed us when she was twelve.” Lex’s expression darkened. “It hurt her. It did. She would not let us leave her sight. Whoever was with her, she couldn’t leave them. But one day she wandered off and Owen did try to recruit her.” Lex closed her eyes for a moment. “Owen said something that upset her, and that’s when Ethan showed up. She just ran back to him and forgot all about joining Owen.” 

“S-she never told me,” Grace said quietly. 

“She never talks about it to anyone,” Lex murmured. “Not just you. She never even told  _ me _ what Owen said to her. Only other person who knows is Ethan, and he refuses to talk about it either.” 

Grace nodded silently. 

“I’m only telling you this because, well, to be completely blunt, you’re going to see Owen and Noel might just have a panic attack right there.”

“I wouldn’t blame her if she did,” Grace said quietly. “At least, well, at least I know now.” She reached down to brush some of Noel’s hair out of her face. “I try to help her when she gets those panic attacks, but, um, honestly? Davey’s better at it than I am.” 

“It took him a long time to learn,” Lex said gently. “Don’t blame yourself for that. The only person who could, um, do it from the start was Owen. He knew it so well. Like the back of his hand. Before the quest, if she was having a panic attack, he would be the one any kid or counselor went to.”

“What  _ happened  _ to him?” Grace shook her head. “I mean, how do you do that to someone.” 

“He’s angry, Grace,” Lex said, as Noel stirred in her sleep and Lex stroked her hair. “He’s angry at the gods, at the world, you name it. And he’s angry for good reasons….but….but he let his anger worm its way into his heart and twist him into something horrible.” she took a deep breath. “It was scary to watch. Before….before he betrayed us, I could never even imagine him trying to hurt another camper, especially one of his friends.” She took a deep breath. “And when Noel came into my cabin sobbing because of him? I was ready to kill him myself.” 

“I’m about ready to kill him myself too,” Grace hugged her arms. “I just….I don’t understand why Davey would take the sky for him. Especially now.” 

“It’s because David’s a good kid,” Lex said softly. “And he knew Owen too. Owen, um, Owen kinda took care of him for a couple of weeks before the Labyrinth. I don’t know why he was so good to him, if he was planning to betray us all anyway. Maybe it was because of this….” Lex sighed. “But he’s the one who gave Davey his first guitar. Stole it from somewhere. Whether that was to be nice, or it was a manipulation tactic, I have no idea.”

“Well, if it was a manipulation tactic, it worked,” Grace said bitterly. 

“He pulled shit on everyone to do this. Ask Noel at some point about when she ran away. She might tell you.”

“I’ll ask her,” Grace said. “Once this is over.” She yawned quietly, putting a hand up to her mouth. 

“You should get some sleep too,” Lex said. “We can talk about what to do next when you both wake up.” 

“Do...do you know where they are?” Grace asked sleepily. 

“I have a guess,” Lex said. “Gods, I fucking hope I’m wrong.” She sighed. “Get some sleep, okay? Noel might kill you if you don’t.”

“I will,” Grace said with a bit of a smile. “Thanks, Lex.” 

“No problem, kid,” Lex said. She gently lifted Noel’s head from her lap to grab them blankets. “See you later. We’ll have dino nuggets while we talk about saving the world.” Noel whined when Lex lifted her head. “Oh, shut up, I’m not getting up.”

“Hmm,” Noel hummed angrily. 

“I’m getting you a blanket,  _ relax _ .” Lex grabbed two blankets from the other couch and handed one to Grace before covering Noel with the other. “Go back to sleep.” 

Noel sleepily flipped her off before snuggling back up to her. Grace laughed a bit behind her hand before spreading out her own blanket, laying her head back on one of the pillows that lay on the couch. 

“Sweet dreams, Grace,” was the last thing she heard before exhaustion overwhelmed her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! If you enjoyed, please consider leaving a comment <33 (or if you need more clarification because i know the explanation wasn't super extensive) 
> 
> Tumblr: 
> 
> Kat: @just-a-side-kick  
> Liv: @thegalwhoreallylikesmusicals


	3. A Fresh Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In their desperation to escape their father and the world that'll kill them if it gets the chance, Elsabeth, Hugo and Lyanna make a leap of faith through a doorway to another world and make a friend on the other side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy, okay, so this requires some explanation/context: 
> 
> For those of you who don't know Elsabeth, Hugo and Lyanna from some of the Hatchetfield things we've posted, they're originally my His Dark Materials OCs, and my original concept for putting them in Hatchetfield was in this way: jumping across worlds and end up in Hatchetfield, like what happened here. 
> 
> Elsabeth is the oldest sibling, age 18   
> Hugo is in the middle, age 14   
> Lyanna is the youngest, age 9   
> Noel is Kat's OC and is also around 17-18 at the point where this story takes place

Elsabeth knew that she had to get her siblings out of here. Out of the city, away from her father and the Magisterium. They’d be hunting them until they were found and brought back, or until they died. That’s how the Magisterium did things. How they dealt with their enemies. And Elsabeth was certainly an enemy. 

Lyanna was holding tight to her hand as they ran through the silent streets. The little fishing village nearest to Bolvangar had few residents, and what few there were cowered in their houses as the shouts rang out. 

“What do we do?” Hugo said. He was usually a pretty levelheaded, cool kid, but he was obviously terrified. “Elsie, they’re going to catch us.” 

“I know,” Elsabeth said. “I’m going to check the Alethiometer.” She pulled Hugo and Lyanna into an alley, pulling them both close. “When I say so, whatever happens, keep running, alright? I’ll hold them off if I need to.”

She ignored the protestations of Hugo and Lyanna. Whatever happened to her, they had to be safe. She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out an unassuming leather pouch that contained her Alethiometer, the single most useful thing she owned and her prized possession. She’d stolen it from the Magisterium in a risky move with Annie, who then had proceeded to sell her out and almost get her killed. Elsabeth still hadn’t quite processed that yet. But the Alethiometer had saved her. It told her the truth. The unbiased, honest truth about everything. In a world clouded by everyone’s ambition and their willingness to lie and hurt each other to get what they wanted, the truth was a more powerful weapon than anything her father or the Magisterium could dream up. 

She opened the Alethiometer and stared at the symbols and lines. She let her instinct guide her. She, as far as she knew, was one of exactly two people who could do this with the Alethiometer. Usually it took weeks to decipher the question asked. Elsabeth could do it in seconds. 

“How do we escape?” She murmured to it, setting the dials to the corresponding symbols. The three birds for family, a door, and a question mark. She waited as the Alethiometer spun its dials, revealing the answer to her. 

“It says that in the fishing shed,” Elsabeth said, her voice barely a whisper. “There’s something to help us escape. A door. I don’t know exactly what that means, but the Alethiometer says it’s our only option.” 

“Anything to get us out of here,” Hugo said. “Elsie, they’re getting closer. Ly’s scared.” 

Elsabeth’s youngest sister hadn’t said a word since she’d rescued her and Hugo from Bolvangar. Elsabeth felt guilty she’d let them be taken at all. It was her fault. She should have been more careful. There was no way it was happening again. Even if she had to lay down her life for it, which was a likely possibility. 

She peered around the corner, the winter storm seeming to grow stronger as she saw the men bearing the Magisterium symbol, the eye of Horus, which Elsabeth found slightly ironic. They were kicking in doors, dragging the villagers out of their homes, and again Elsabeth felt a pang of guilt. Their suffering was her fault. 

“Alright,” she said finally. “We’ll use the chaos. When I say go, run for the fishing hut. It’s two doors down, over the bridge at the stream.” 

Hugo nodded and she peered out again. A chill went down Elsabeth’s spine at the face of the leader of the hunt. Their father. He still had a broken nose from where Elsie had punched him in the face, but he looked absolutely murderous. He turned away to hear a report from one of his men, who had cleared out a different street.

“Now,” Elsabeth hissed. “Go. Now.” 

The trio sprinted through the snow as fast as they could, Elsabeth trying her best to stay warm. She’d given her jacket to Lyanna, whose had been taken at Bolvangar. Lyanna stumbled, whimpering, and Elsie scooped her up so that she didn’t have to move her tiny legs in the snowdrifts. 

They were almost there when the shouts went up. They’d been spotted, and Elsabeth shoved Hugo and Lyanna into the fishing hut before kicking out the bridge, which was only haphazardly laid across the stream. It wouldn’t stop them for long. Hugo grabbed her arm and yanked her into the hut, before barring the door behind them. 

It was pitch-dark, and the smell of rotting fish made Elsabeth wrinkle her nose. She had no idea where the hypothetical door that would get them out of this mess was. But she hoped she found it soon. 

“Hey, Mom,” she muttered under her breath. “I know you probably aren’t bloody listening, but some help right now would be wonderful.” 

Of course, Serafina didn’t show to save her children. She never came when Elsie asked her. She could’ve been on her last breath and still Serafina wouldn’t show up. Sure, she’d shown up to fight at Bolvangar, but she hadn’t said a word to Elsabeth, and left as quickly as she had come. 

“What do we do?” Elsabeth murmured, as the shouts grew louder, and the men started banging on the door. The brace wouldn’t hold long, and Lyanna began to cry. 

“What is that?” Hugo asked, and Elsabeth turned around. She gasped. There, in the air, was a shimmering patch of purple-ish light that hadn’t been there before. It was as if reality was fractured, splintered. “Do you think it’s our door?” 

The beam began to crack, and Elsabeth pushed her siblings toward the light. “I hope so. Go. Now.” 

Hugo yelped as he and Lyanna were pulled through the doorway. Elsabeth started to run after them when the beam burst and the door was blown open by the wind. Elsabeth leapt for the portal, and felt a hand grab onto the sleeve of her shirt, stopping her short. Instinctively, she twisted, stamping on the foot of her captor so hard he yelped and loosened his grip. The end of her sleeve ripped and Elsabeth flew into the doorway without so much as a glance back. She prayed this place was better than the one she was leaving behind. 

She face-planted on asphalt for a promising start. 

“Oh, fuck, are you okay?” A voice from above was the first thing she heard. Not Hugo or Lyanna. A random female voice.

Elsabeth immediately got to her feet, reaching into her pocket for a knife she didn’t have anymore. Her nose was bleeding, but she could deal with that later. She scowled at the stranger, giving her her best ‘don’t fuck with me’ animalistic stare. She could terrify people when she wanted to. 

“Get back,” she snarled. “Hugo, Lyanna?” 

“Hey, I’m not gonna hurt you guys,” The girl held her hands up with some black block in her hand. 

“What the hell is that?” Elsie demanded. “Some kind of weapon? Are you Magisterium? Who are you?” 

“This is a phone,” the girl showed her. “No, I work at the coffee shop right here. My name’s Noel.” She pointed to the nametag with “Noel” with a purple heart scrawled on it.

“What’s a coffee shop?” Elsabeth demanded. “Is that like a hotel?” 

“We serve pastries and coffee,” Noel explained. “Do you know what coffee is?”

“What am I, stupid?” Elsabeth rolled her eyes. “Of course I know what coffee is.” 

“Sorry,” Noel cringed back at the first phrase. “Are you okay? Your nose is bleeding.”

“I’m fine,” Elsabeth said, backing off a tiny bit. “Thanks.” 

“Do you want something to clean it up? I can grab you some paper towels or something. You don’t have to come inside if you don’t want, ah, my boss might be a bitch.”

“What’re paper towels, Elsie?” Hugo whispered to her. 

“I don’t know,” Elsabeth whispered back. She turned to the girl. “...Thank you, Noel.” 

“Is that a yes to the paper towels then?”

“Yes,” Elsabeth said. They were probably bandages of some kind, she assumed. 

Noel disappeared inside and came back with what looked like large napkins. She also brandished three things on sticks. “I grabbed cake pops too. You guys look like you need a snack too.” She showed Elsabeth how to hold the paper towels against her nose.

This was a little more familiar to her. She’d done this before with the cloth napkins her stepmother liked so much to keep spotless. Out of spite. She’d never seen cake in pop form before, but she took a cautious bite. She’d trained her siblings to always let her eat first, just in case. When she didn’t keel over, she nodded to her siblings. 

“I know it’s probably not the best thing in the world, we don't have the best pastries in town. If you want good cake, go to the bakery on Summer Street. They make the good stuff there.”

“This is amazing!” Lyanna said with a small grin. “I ain’t never had cake on a stick before.” 

“Isn’t it cool?” Noel asked Lyanna, catering to her wonder. Elsie was very wary about it.

Lyanna saw the look on her sister’s face and stepped back. “Um, yeah.” 

“Thanks for the napkins and the, uh, cake pops,” Elsabeth said, putting a hand on Lyanna’s shoulder. “But we really should get going.” She fished in her pocket for the gold currency they used back in London. “Here.” 

Noel looked at the gold coin in confusion. “Are these, like, dollar coins?”

“What?” Elsabeth furrowed her brow. 

“Dollar coins. You know, gold coins that can be used in the place of a dollar?”

“Yes?” Elsabeth said cautiously. She had no idea what a ‘dollar’ was, but she got the feeling that whatever and whoever the girl was, agreeing was probably a good idea.

“You know what? Keep the money. My treat.” Noel smiled softly. “Nora’ll chip it out of my paycheck regardless. You don’t gotta pay.”

Now Elsie was suspicious. Nobody did anything for free. There was always a price to pay. 

“What do you want, then?” Elsabeth asked. 

“Um, just kinda stay out here until I’m done calling my girlfriend? You can make my break longer,” Noel held her phone up. 

“That’s it?” Elsabeth asked. 

“That’s it,” Noel confirmed. 

“Well, either you’re stupid, or we really did leave London behind.” 

“London. Like, London, England? We don’t have an airport here, how...did you take the ferry and dock and run into this alley or something?” 

“Ferry?” Elsabeth asked. “No. We, um, were just walking, and I tripped. We need to go now, our...um….parents. We promised them we’d be back soon.” 

Noel raised an eyebrow. 

“Right,” Hugo cut in helpfully. “Come on, Ly. We gotta go.” Hugo leaned over to Elsie and whispered. “We should check the Alethiometer. Maybe it’ll help us.” 

“You’re right,” Elsabeth said. She turned to the girl with her most ‘I’m an innocent child and I could never do anything wrong, even with the stolen compass in my hand’ smile. “Sorry, we seem to have gotten a bit turned around. Do you know the way back to the hotel in town?” 

“We don’t have hotels here, we’re a really small island,” Noel glanced at the Alethiometer and worry seemed to fill her eyes. “That’s a sick knife, though. Unless you’re going to use it on me.”

“I’m not,” Elsabeth promised her. “And, um, don’t worry about the pointy thing. It’s not a knife. It’s a, uh, compass.” 

“Those things are real?”

“Of course,” Elsabeth said. “Explorers and Aeronauts navigate by them almost exclusively. This one was a gift.” 

“I didn’t know compasses existed, I thought they were fake.” Noel blushed. 

Elsabeth snickered a bit. “I assure you, this one is very real. It doesn't do me much good, but I like it.” 

Pretending to admire the compass, Elsabeth opened it, and moved the needles to ask the Alethiometer about their next move. The Alethiometer said that they should stay in this place, called Hatchetfield, for a while. Though, Elsabeth could sense it had other things it wanted to tell her. 

Go ahead, then. She used her thoughts to tell it. 

The Alethiometer then proceeded to tell her that this girl, Noel, could help her accomplish her goal. Seeing as Elsie’s goal was to absolutely tear the Magisterium down limb from limb, she was a bit confused. 

“Who are you?” Elsabeth looked back up at Noel. “Gyptian? Are you from one of the colleges?” 

“I’m Irish-French,” Noel said. “I’m a senior in high school, my name’s Noel Michaels.” 

“Elsabeth,” Elsabeth said finally, she was always wary about introducing herself. “And I don’t know what ‘high school’ is, but I’m more interested in what the Alethiometer said.” 

“The fuck is an Altheiometer?”

“It tells me the truth,” Elsabeth said simply. 

“Lie detector? Fucking nice.”

“Not a lie detector,” Elsabeth said. “Though, I guess it is that in some capacity. It just tells me the truth. About anything I ask it, and it said you could help me. Maybe you’re more of a fighter than you look.” 

“What, no, I am not,” Noel said. “Your thingy, it’s wrong.” 

“Oh, really?” Elsabeth raised an eyebrow. She put symbols for Noel in her Alethiometer, and waited. 

“Your parents aren’t in your life,” she stated. “You live with your aunt and uncle, who don’t care for you much. Though your uncle doesn’t seem to be here anymore. Your aunt isn’t home much, you’re mostly alone.” She looked up at Noel. “Am I right?” 

“My uncle moved off island last week, got fed up with me and my aunt.” Noel swallowed. “And she’s barely there mentally as it is.” Her face had paled significantly. “That thing really told you all of that?” 

“You stay at your ex’s house a lot.” Elsie continued. “They’re good people too. You think highly of them. Am I right?”

“Yes,” Noel said, swallowing again. “You can stop now, I believe you.” 

“Good.” Elsabeth closed the Alethiometer. 

“But, seriously, I’m not a fighter,” Noel said. “But I could probably give you guys a place to stay for a few days, while you, um, figure your stuff out. You guys don’t really have anywhere to go, do you? Your parents aren’t actually here?” 

“No,” Elsabeth said, pulling Lyanna close to her. “They aren’t.” 

“My aunt’s gone all weekend. We can find a room in the house for the little kids, you can take my room, I’ll sleep in her room or on the couch or something.”

“I don’t want you to do that for me,” Elsabeth said. “We’ll find another way.” 

“You can do it. I don’t care.” Noel shrugged. “I get off work at four.”

“We can’t pay you, Noel,” Elsabeth said. 

“I don’t get paid much as it is. It’s nothing different.”

“And you really don’t want anything in return for this?” Elsabeth asked incredulously. 

“Just to call my girlfriend right now.” Noel held her phone up again to show it to her. 

“Right,” Elsabeth said. “We’ll come back later, then.” 

“I get off at four. That’s when Emma’s gonna drive me home, but I’ll meet you somewhere. Um, there’s this office building, it’ll say CCRP Technical on it. Just meet me out front.” 

“Alright,” Elsabeth said. “I’ll ask the Alethiometer how to find it. Thank you, Noel. Really.” 

“Of course.” She nodded and looked down at her phone to call her girlfriend or whoever. Elsabeth took Lyanna’s hand with one of hers, and clutched the Alethiometer with the other. They’d find somewhere to sit for a while, and she could look her siblings over for injuries and try to calm her own nerves. 

At four, the Altheiometer led them to CCRP Technical. Ten minutes later, Noel showed up in her uniform from work, minus the green apron with her nametag. She held out one cake pop and two sandwiches.

“Here. Eat.”

Elsabeth handed the food to her siblings without a word. Lyanna munched on the cake pop while holding tight to Elsabeth’s hand. Hugo looked cautiously at it before taking a small bite. 

“That other sandwich is for you, Elsabeth,” Noel said. “I can make dinner at home, I don’t know what we have though.”

“I’m alright,” Elsabeth replied. “She can have it.” The children at Bolvangar weren’t fed properly, and none of them had eaten since fleeing the facility. Her siblings needed food more than she did. 

“You sure?” Noel asked.

“I’m fine,” Elsabeth said. “Lyanna and Hugo need to eat.” Hugo shot her a look, but she shot him one back and he didn’t say anything. 

“Okay,” Noel nodded. “We have more at home and everyone’s eating dinner tonight. Regardless.” She began to walk in the direction of what Elsie assumed to be her house.

Hatchetfield didn’t have any of the luxurious apartment buildings of London or the rundown shacks of the North. It had quaint houses with different color sidings. She could see fancier houses off in the distance.

“So, that’s Pinebrook, that’s where all the city council families and the PTA families and the lawyers live.”

“The City Council? PTA? Is that, like, the Magisterium?” 

“Parent Teacher Association, they’re a bunch of brats who think about their kid and their kid only. The city council helps with town stuff.”

Elsabeth and Hugo exchanged an uneasy look, and Lyanna hid in her sister’s side. Noel noticed their reactions. 

“So they, um, run things?” Hugo asked quietly. 

“Not really. They listen to the citizens and try to work with the mayor. It’s, like, weird. My family never works with the city. Except for my uncle, but we really hate him.” Noel shrugged. 

Elsabeth nodded. She understood hating family like that. 

“So, not like the Magisterium at all then,” she said softly with a bit of a laugh. 

“Okay, correct me if I’m wrong, but the MAgisterium. That thing. That’s the teaching office of the church, right?”

Elsabeth flinched involuntarily. “Yes. Or, something like that. They didn’t really teach me anything. Well, not anything I wanted to learn.” 

“Oh, fun, so not like the church!” Noel clapped. “Great.”

“No, no,” Elsabeth said. “It’s exactly like the Church. So, the Magisterium doesn’t run things here, correct?” 

“No.” Noel shook her head. “Oh, god, you had to deal with the church? I’m so sorry you had to deal with them, oh my god.”

“Me too,” Elsabeth said. She almost felt like jumping up and down. The Magisterium wasn’t here. They couldn’t find them here. Well, they probably could, but for the moment, she was safe. At least there were no soldiers lurking on every corner, or Father MacPhail, who her stepmother was sleeping with every weekend in exchange for a higher position, leering at her in the Magisterium hallways. “Me too.” 

“I went to church for the first...8 years I lived here again? So I understand how shitty they are.” She turned down a street lined with houses that all looked similar.

She didn’t seem like she had been cut. She was bubbly and alive, not like the heartbreaking zombies she’d seen at Bolvangar. She ran up a house’s stairs and unlocked the door with a key. 

“Welcome to the Michaels house,” She said. 

“It’s lovely,” Elsabeth said, giving the standard response from her stepmother. 

“I cleaned it up last night.” Noel’s frown came back. “It was still a mess. I had to clean it.” She looked around and fixed one of the pictures of her and a woman with red hair in nurse’s scrubs.

“Is that your aunt?” Elsabeth asked curiously. 

“No, it’s my friend’s adoptive mother, so to speak.” Noel looked down at it again. “She’s a nurse.”

“Oh.” Elsabeth nodded. She’d had a few of those, at least try to help her a bit. An aeronaut pirate and some Gyptians who had lost children in the abductions by the Magisterium themselves. One of the children had died. His funeral was the worst day of Elsabeth’s life. They’d fled in a panic before the Gyptians and Lee could say goodbye. 

“Um, we have books and TV and stuff if the kids want to do anything.” Noel gestured to Lyanna and Hugo.

“TV?” Elsabeth tilted her head. “What’s that?” 

“Moving pictures.” Noel explained. “Does she like princesses?” She pointed to Lyanna.

“Is it some kind of magic?” Elsabeth asked. “And yes, she does. Very much.” 

“It’s technology.” Noel looked through a stack of silver circles before pulling one out and putting it in a device. “She can watch a movie. It’s my favorite. It’s called Cinderella.”

“Is that the story of the serving girl who went to a ball and found a prince, but then her family locked her away and she burned herself in the ashes of a fire?” Elsabeth asked, covering Lyanna’s ears. Lee had told her about that one. “You let children watch that?” 

“The movie version is much, much calmer. It has a happy ending. She sleeps in the ashes in this one, which earns her ‘Cinderella’, but she has a happy ending.” Noel assured her.

“That’s good,” Elsabeth said. “Not many of our stories had happy endings.” 

“Yeah, I think seven-year-old me would’ve been even more traumatized if I saw that.” Noel laughed a bit to herself. “The company, Disney, makes much better, happier versions of the original fairy tales.”

Elsabeth laughed a little too. “Fair enough.” 

“Do you have books?” Hugo asked. 

“We’ve got loads. Fiction, non-fiction, all that fun stuff.”

“Do you have a library?” Elsabeth asked, her eyes lighting up. The library at the college had always been someplace she liked to go and hide. Scholastic Sanctuary protected it from the Magisterium for the most part, and the scholars took pity on her. 

“Couple bookshelves around the house. One in my room, one in Aunt Charlotte’s office, and I think she has some in her room as well.” Noel replied. “If you’re looking for classics, the office has those as well as some non-fiction books. My room has all the fiction, teen books, teen romance, all that fun stuff. If you want sappy love stories, Aunt Charlotte’s room.”

“Try the office, Hugo,” Elsabeth directed. “Bring something for me, won’t you?” 

“We have Little Women in my room.” Noel piped up. “It’s one of my favorites.” Then she seemed to retreat back into herself. “Sorry.”

“I don’t know what Little Women is, but I’d love to try it,” Elsabeth smiled at her. “I exhausted the library at the College. They could hardly keep up with me.” 

“Um, Hugo, right? Yeah, cool. My room’s right up the stairs to the left. The office is across from it.” Noel gave him a thumbs-up. “Go on up.” She turned to Lyanna. “Now, do you want to watch Cinderella?”

“I don’t know what that is,” Lyanna said. She turned to Elsabeth. “What’s Cinderella? Is it like a play?” 

“I’m not sure, exactly,” Elsabeth told her, stroking her hair. “But I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. It’ll be much more exciting than the plays.” 

Noel turned the devices on and the pictures on screen came to life. “Here it is. You can all sit down, I’m just gonna take a quick look at my homework.”

“Of course,” Elsabeth said. Again, she felt like an intruder, like she was being too much of a pain. “Do whatever you need. I’ll stay down here with Ly and Hugo.” Lyanna squealed with delight at the colors of Cinderella and Elsie drifted over, a bit mesmerized at the moving pictures. She pulled Lyanna into her lap, letting Lyanna play with her hair and twist it into tiny little braids. Noel disappeared up to her bedroom, dragging a bag with her to look over whatever she was learning.

Hugo reappeared a minute later, holding ‘Little Women,’ as well as a thick book entitled ‘The Iliad.’ Elsabeth gasped. That was forbidden reading back home, and the scholars had hidden her in the corner to read an excerpt from it. 

“The Magisterium isn’t here, Elsie,” Hugo said softly. “And I’ve always wanted to read it.” He looked almost excited to break some rules. It was something they could only do very rarely, when they were sure they wouldn’t be punished. 

“I’m not going to stop you,” Elsabeth said with a small smile “The part I read was excellent. I just-” She sighed. “You know.” 

“I know,” Hugo said. He glanced up the stairs. “So, Noel. Do you trust her?” 

“The Alethiometer says it’s safe,” Elsabeth whispered. “And she’s really nice for someone who met three people today.” She shrugged. “If something does happen, we know how to fight.” 

“Right,” Hugo said with a nod. “Okay. Yeah.” Elsabeth’s stomach growled. Out of the three of them, she was the only one who hadn’t eaten. It wasn’t unusual, but Hugo shot her a look. 

“Noel said she’ll make food,” Elsabeth protested. “I want to ask the Alethiometer more about her.”

She set down Little Women and opened the Alethiometer again, looking around out of instinct. Lyanna was too captivated with the screen, under a blanket now, to really pay any attention, and Elsie heard faint music from Noel’s bedroom.

“Alright, then,” she said, opening the Alethiometer. “What should we ask about now?” 

“She said she had a girlfriend,” Hugo remarked. “What’s with that. They allow that here?” Back home, the sentence for doing something like that was death. Elsabeth had to be very careful when she went to meet girls. One of whom was executed for it anyway. 

The alethiometer spit out explanations. Yeah, it was legal, and the majority of Hatchetfield was accepting of it. It also made a note that Noel’s uncle did not accept it, and her aunt was deeply religious but didn’t care. Elsabeth winced a bit. Deeply religious was not a term she liked. 

“So, it’s legal here.” She began. “Most people in this town accept it. It says her uncle doesn’t and her aunt’s, um, religious but doesn’t care.”

“Religious,” Hugo repeated. “Oh, no.” 

“I don’t think Noel is. She doesn’t seem like it. And it doesn’t look like her aunt’s coming home. I can ask, though.” She gestured to the alethiometer. It gave a listing of Noel’s aunt’s whereabouts for the next four days. Man after man after man. Elsie winced again.

“No adults are good bloody adults,” Hugo muttered. 

“Not home for the next four days, going from man to man.” 

“Ah, just like our so-called Mother, then,” Hugo said with a bit of a sneer. “I see that ‘religious people’ are about as pious here as they were back in New London.” 

“Are you really surprised?” Elsie replied, raising an eyebrow at him. 

“No,” Hugo shrugged, and went back to his book. “What else does it say about her?” 

“Just that she’s strong,” Elsabeth said. “Which, I mean, she looks weak as anything. She’s so tiny.”

“Ly could probably take her in a fight,” Hugo said. “Glad the poor girl wasn’t back home. They would’ve made mincemeat out of her.” 

“Unless she has some sort of skill we don’t know about, she would be dead,” Elsabeth shook her head, looking down at the alethiometer.

“So, is it safe here?” Hugo asked. “For us, and Ly, I mean.” 

“It says yes. To all of it. Including Ly.” Elsabeth showed him the alethiometer. “I don’t know why. But it says it is safe for us.” She glanced at Lyanna captivated by the dancing people on the screen.

“She seems to be calming down,” Hugo said. “She was off in her world when we were in Bolvangar, literally would not respond when they came for us.” He shuddered. 

“Maybe this moving picture helps her.” Elsabeth leaned up against the back of the couch. “I could use a drink.” 

“It’s not healthy,” Hugo argued. He hated it when she drank. He understood it, but that didn’t mean he necessarily agreed with it. 

Noel didn’t come back downstairs until 9pm. “Okay, sorry, holy shit, it’s late. I can make, like, a frozen pizza or something. Is that okay with you guys?” 

“Pizza?” Elsabeth tilted her head. 

“Oh, I think you guys will like it, it’s cheese and tomato sauce and bread all together. I’ll just make a cheese one, okay? Does that sound like a good idea to everyone? Will your little sister eat it too? I know some little kids can be picky.”

“Alright,” Elsabeth said. She was so hungry that she didn’t care what Noel put in front of her. “She’ll eat whatever you give her. Trust me.” 

“Alrightie,” Noel gave her a thumbs-up. “Do you guys want to shower, take a bath anything? I have some t-shirts and stuff you all can borrow.”

“Shower?” Elsabeth asked. “Is that like a bath?” 

“I can show you once I put the pizza in the oven,” Noel called from the kitchen, rummaging in a cold box that looked like an ice box. “You can borrow some of my clothes.” She turned to her with a box in hand. “Just give me, like, ten minutes.”

“Take your time,” Elsabeth said, settling back on the couch. A bath sounded nice right now. The one perk about her family was the baths. Ones with scented soaps and lavender perfumed bubbles and water that was always warm. 

Noel came out from the kitchen after some beeping noises. “Okay, Elsabeth, I can show you what a shower is. Come on. We can pick you out some clothes. I can change the movie for Lyanna too. There’s a bunch.”

“How many are there?” Elsabeth asked incredulously. 

“We have a lot. I had a really big princess phase when I got here. I thought they were the coolest thing because they got a happy ending.” She shrugged, looking through the round silver circles again.

“I probably would think that too,” Elsabeth said nonchalantly. “I don’t blame you.” 

Noel raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment. “There’s one called Frozen. It was a huge thing when I was around her age. Wanna try it, Lyanna?” 

“Is it like Cinderella?” Lyanna asked. 

“It’s about princesses with magic and snow and cool songs,” Noel talked like she understood a nine-year-old girl, which Elsabeth appreciated. “I used to love it too. I think you’d like it. You have hair like one of them.” She gestured to the braid.

“Yes,” Lyanna said. “I want to watch it! Can I, Elle-beth?” 

“It’s nothing scary,” Noel informed Elsabeth. 

“Of course you can, sweet girl,” Elsabeth said, kissing her head. “I’ll be close by, alright?” 

Noel smiled and put it into the device and started it up for Lyanna. Then, she led Elsabeth upstairs to her bedroom. It was pale purple with stringed up light bulbs and photographs everywhere. The desk was cluttered with textbooks and papers, and Noel’s bed was not made at all.

“I like your room,” Elsabeth said. She wasn’t just saying that this time. 

“Thank you, I redid it last summer.” Noel smiled. “My, um, ex and I did it together.”

Elsabeth nodded, but didn’t pry. 

“We’re friends still, I made it sound weird, sorry,” Noel blushed and looked in a couple of drawers.

“That’s good,” Elsabeth said. “You didn’t. I wish I had that privilege.” 

“Do they not like, um, dating where you’re from?” Noel pulled out a shirt and held it up to Elsabeth. “This is just a t-shirt. Comfortable. Good for bed.”

It was nothing like the silk nightgowns Elsabeth was forced to wear and absolutely detested, so it was fine by her. “Thank you.” 

“I have sweatpants too. They’re, like, really comfy pants for just hanging out in.” She ruffled through another drawer before showing her a blue pair of pants. “These should fit you. If not, there’s a little tie you can tie up on the waistband.”

“That’s fine,” Elsabeth said. “Thank you, Noel. Really. For all of this.” 

“Of course,” Noel smiled. “Now, time for you to learn what a shower is.” She led her into the bathroom down the hall and showed her how it worked, how the lever made the water come from the top of the bathtub wall.

She got the picture fairly quickly, but it wasn’t what she was expecting. The baths had always been a comfort for her, so she did miss them a little.

“Um, if you wanted to give Lyanna a bath, I could show you that instead,” Noel suggested. “It’s fairly easy. You just don’t pull the lever.” She showed her. 

“Oh,” Elsabeth said. She tried to hide how happy that made her. Baths had always calmed her down. 

“So I’ll leave you to it. Take as long as you want, honestly. Pizza’ll be done soon, but I can always throw another one in the oven if somehow us three eat a whole pizza.”

“If you do, don’t worry,” Elsabeth promised. “Really.” 

“Hey, you need to eat too, you know?” Noel smiled a bit. “Have fun with the bath, take as long as you want.” She left the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

Elsie sat in the bath until the water was cold, scrubbing the dirt and grime and blood and sweat from the past few days off of her. She checked a cut she’d gotten on her shoulder from the fight at Bolvangar. It didn’t seem to be infected, and the bleeding had definitely stopped. So that was good. She didn’t tell Hugo or Lyanna about it, they didn’t need to worry. 

She came downstairs to Noel, Hugo, and Lyanna all on the couch, slices of pizza on paper plates.

“There’s more in the kitchen, Elsabeth,” she told her with a smile. “I made another since we went through a whole pizza in about five minutes.”

“It’s good, Elle-beth!” Lyanna looked excited about the whole thing.

“Really good,” Hugo echoed. He smiled at his sister, looking more relaxed now that he had some food in him. “There’s this fizzy stuff to drink here. Like fizzy water back home, but this has flavors.”

“Just ginger ale, it’s soda. We have fizzy water too. Just not here.” 

“No fizzy water for me, thanks,” Elsabeth said with a bit of a laugh. “Soda sounds great.” 

“I can grab you a cup,” Noel hopped up off the couch. 

“No, I can get it-” Elsabeth began, but Noel just waved her off and went into the kitchen. 

“She said she’s super excited to have us here,” Hugo said quietly to her as Noel looked for the soda she’d misplaced. “She said she doesn’t have people over a lot.”

“It shows,” Elsabeth said, with a bit of a smile. “We got lucky.” 

“She’s nice though. And the pizza’s really good.” He grinned. “Take a slice, Elsie.”

“There’s more in the kitchen, I think Noel’s getting it,” Elsabeth promised, pushing the pizza back toward him. Noel came back with the soda, a cup, and the second pizza all in her hands. Elsabeth jumped up and took the bottle of Ginger Ale from her, and the cup. She set them on the coffee table, then took the pizza from Noel and set that on the table too. 

“Which kid wants to get cleaned up first?” Noel asked. 

“I’m finished,” Hugo said. “I’ll go.” 

“It’s just like the baths we had,” Elsabeth said. “And if you want the water to fall on your head, then you pull the lever. I’ll give Ly a bath afterwards.” 

“I can grab you some clothes,” Noel hopped up. “And I can take Lyanna. You sit down and eat some pizza.” She pointed to Elsabeth with some sort of big sister in her.

“I will,” Elsabeth promised, sitting down and tentatively nibbling at an edge. She hoped it wasn’t poisoned. She was already letting her guard down too quickly. The comfort of being safe was getting to her head. It didn’t seem to be, so she relaxed a little. Noel led Hugo upstairs to grab some clothes and to quickly give him a rundown of the shower. It was just her and Lyanna now, but Lyanna had gone back to being transfixed in the movie.

“How’re you feeling, sweet girl?” she asked softly, letting Lyanna lean up against her. 

“Alright,” Lyanna smiled up at her. “Ellie’s nice. Nicer than Annie or Father MacPhail or even Mama.” 

Elsabeth closed her eyes at the mention of their mother. Lyanna adored Serafina, but Elsabeth had a very different opinion of the witch who had given birth to her. But she never voiced her doubts to Lyanna, not once. She didn’t deserve to have her innocence shattered more than it already had been. 

“I’m glad you like her,” Elsabeth said. “Because I think we’ll be staying here for a bit, just until things cool down, and I can make a plan.” 

Lyanna was staring at the movie with wide eyes, eating her pizza. She wasn’t listening to a thing Elsabeth was saying, and maybe that was for the better. Elsabeth just stroked her hair and ate her pizza. Noel came back downstairs, trying to figure out what she could do next. 

“How’s the pizza?” Noel asked her. 

“It’s excellent,” Elsabeth said. “I have no idea how anyone back home didn’t think of this. We have all the elements. Bread, cheese, and tomato sauce, but no one ever thought to put them together.” 

Noel laughed a little. “It’s good, isn’t it?”

“It really is,” Elsabeth said. “Though, I really would’ve eaten anything you offered. I was hungry.” 

“I need to go grocery shopping.” Noel ran a hand through her hair. “After school tomorrow, I’ll go.”

“I always liked going to the market,” Elsabeth said. 

“It’s like a market. Indoors. We can all go, get some things all of you like too,” Noel offered. “We have to walk though. Grace works afternoons with her dad and David has work too and I don’t drive.”

“Grace is...your girlfriend?” Elsabeth asked. 

“Yeah, my girlfriend,” Noel nodded. “I’m, yeah, gay.”

“I knew people like that,” Elsabeth said. “Of course, um, most of them were eventually executed, but….I understand.” 

“We don’t execute people for it in Hatchetfield.” Noel stretched out in an armchair. 

“That’s good,” Elsabeth said. “I...I had to be very careful. I’ve, um, been with both, boys and girls. It was a foolish thing to do, but, well...” 

“Oh, cool, yeah,” Noel smiled. “I know people who have too. My ex has a boyfriend now, her boyfriend's done the same.”

Elsabeth nodded. “I never agreed with it. I thought it was silly, but, the Magisterium never really cared about what made sense, or was in the Bible. They just like having control.” 

“Sounds a lot like people I know,” Noel said softly.

“Yeah,” Elsabeth said solemnly, a sleepy Lyanna closing her eyes. “Those people and power….they don’t mix.” 

“My Uncle is a cop. I think you can figure it out from there.”

“I can,” Elsabeth said. “I’m sorry you had to live with that.” 

“He’s off island now, I don’t talk to him, he left last week.”

“Well, at least that’s something,” Elsabeth said. “Ly seems to like the, um, moving pictures? It seems to be helping her a lot.” 

“Elle-beth,” Lyanna said, sleepily tugging on her arm. Elsabeth looked down at her. “The picture is really good. One of the princesses, she has ice powers, and she’s just like you!” 

“Really?” Elsabeth asked, smiling down at her. “How so?” 

“She’s brave and strong and she looks out for her sister,” Lyanna said, listing off the traits they shared. “She’s got hair like me, though.” She smiled sleepily at Elsabeth.

“Well, I bet she’s more like you than like me,” Elsabeth said, tapping her nose. “Now, I think it’s bathtime, and then bed for you, Your Grace.” She only called Ly that when they were alone, usually. 

“I can take her up for a bath,” Noel said softly. 

“No, that’s alright,” Elsabeth said. “Sorry, um, she just, likes it when I do it.” 

“Oh, it’s okay, don’t worry,” Noel smiled. “I get it.”

Elsabeth nodded, and picked Lyanna up. She wasn’t going to walk on her own right now, and that was okay. She was still small for her age, small enough for Elsabeth to carry her without much of an issue. 

“There’s pajamas in my room, there’s princess ones that my ex got me as a joke for something,” Noel called after her. 

“Perfect, thank you,” Elsabeth called back. 

Lyanna loved baths almost as much as Elsie did, which meant baths usually took a long time. She liked to illustrate her own little world to Elsie when she bathed. Elsabeth didn’t mind. She loved listening to her little sister happily prattle on about this or that she’d done in her head. 

Tonight, though, Lyanna didn’t talk much in the bath. 

“You feeling alright, Ly?” Elsie asked as she washed her hair with the good-smelling shampoo Noel had.

“Just sleepy,” Lyanna said, rubbing her eyes. Elsie knew there was more to it than that. 

“Were you thinking about the bad place?” She asked softly. “You can tell me, Ly.”

“I...Mhm,” Lyanna said, staring down at the bubbles that covered the bath. “It was dark…” She swallowed hard. “Too dark. And Mama wasn’t there to tell me it was okay.” 

“I know, sweet girl.” Elsie swallowed hard. “But you’ll never see the inside of it again. I promise.” She gently rinsed the shampoo from Lyanna’s hair. “We’re gonna be here.”

“Will they find us?” Lyanna asked quietly. “Will Father take us back?” 

“Not if I can help it,” Elsabeth said soothingly. She didn’t think Noel, with any knowledge of anything they’d been through, would let it happen either, as weak as it sounded. “Never.” 

“Okay,” Lyanna said. “Elsie, can I sleep now?” 

“Let’s get you dressed for bed, then of course, you can sleep,” Elsabeth said softly. “You must be tired, huh, sweet girl?” 

Lyanna gave a sleepy nod as Elsabeth went and found the pajamas that Noel had told her about. They were a little big on Lyanna, but they were a welcome change. Lyanna looked so much happier and more comfortable than in the horrible jumpsuit they forced all the kids to wear at Bolvangar. 

She was already asleep by the time Elsabeth carried her downstairs. 

“Noel,” Elsabeth asked softly. “Where should I put her?” 

“I’ll show you,” Noel said. “Hugo already went up to bed, too. I put them in the same room if that’s alright. It’s got two beds.” 

“Ly’s probably going to crawl in with one of us anyhow,” Elsabeth chuckled a bit. “So that’s fine.” 

“You can sleep in my aunt’s room if you want,” Noel suggested. “She’s not coming home tonight, I guess.” Her voice dropped a bit and she shrugged. “I have school in the morning, I’ll be up early.”

“Okay,” Elsabeth said softly. She put a tentative hand on Noel’s shoulder in a gesture of support. “Um, that’s okay. We were always taught at home, so, um, maybe we should wait.” 

“I have old school books and the bookshelves have things to teach with too, I can leave some of my stuff here for you to learn with.”

“Don’t worry,” Elsabeth said. “I’ll manage. I always have. Take your school things. You shouldn’t fail, you’ll get in trouble.” 

“I’m failing anyway,” Noel shrugged. “What are they gonna do, throw me out of the public high school?”

“In my experience, they can do whatever they like,” Elsabeth said quietly, putting Lyanna down in the bed.

“They won't throw me out. They don’t want to. They’re scared of my co-worker.” Noel leaned in the doorway. “She goes to my school stuff sometimes. When my uncle didn’t want to and my aunt was, um, out.” 

Elsabeth nodded. “Still. I’ll manage, don’t worry.” 

“Okay,” Noel nodded. “Goodnight, Elsabeth.”

“Goodnight, Noel,” Elsabeth replied quietly. 

“My aunt’s room is downstairs, there’s a door next to where the TV is.” 

“Alright,” Elsabeth said. “I know I’ve said this before, but thank you, for everything you’re doing.” 

“I don’t mind it. I like helping people. And you’re nice to me too.”

“You’re in a very small group,” Elsabeth said with a little smile. “Goodnight.” Noel smiled and went down the hall to her bedroom. Elsabeth heard the door close quietly.

Elsabeth kissed Lyanna’s forehead, and she didn’t even stir. Hugo didn’t like when she did this, but she crossed to his bed and kissed his forehead too. The panic and stress of the past few days had made her cherish these little moments all the more. She felt more at ease than she had in months. Years, even. 

With one last look at her siblings, Elsabeth made her way quietly down the stairs and found Noel’s aunt’s room. It didn’t look like it’d been touched in a few days. She hadn’t even realized how exhausted she was. The last few days, she’d been running on adrenaline and fear and panic, which were powerful motivators, but eventually they always ran out. She collapsed into the bed, and thought about how long it would be before she outstayed her welcome here. Someplace safe like this couldn’t last long. Her last thought before she fell asleep was to not get too comfortable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment if you enjoyed!! 
> 
> Also, there is a genuine thought in the back of my mind of writing a full hatchetfield/his dark materials crossover with Elsie, Hugo and Ly so if anyone would be interested in that/actually read it lmk
> 
> <3 
> 
> \- Your friendly co-author liv 
> 
> Tumblrs: 
> 
> Liv: @thegalwhoreallylikesmusicals  
> Kat: @just-a-side-kick


	4. Confessions at the Carnival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noel and Alice spend a day at the County Fair (bearing no relation to WatcherWorld) and long-harbored feelings finally bubble to the surface

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ships for this fic: Alice/Noel (Original Female Character), Background David/Elsabeth 
> 
> No strong TWs for this fic except for minor references to child abuse

Noel was not usually one for big crowded areas, especially amusement parks. They were loud, crowded, and overall pretty bad for her. But Alice was always fun to go out with, and she always made Noel feel a tiny bit better. 

Alice wasn’t with Deb anymore. She’d walked in on Deb making out with Ziggy, the cool non-binary person Deb had had a crush on. Noel didn’t think Ziggy was that cool. They’d been her chemistry partner and she had done most of the work in that class. Noel had helped her through the heartbreak, and now Alice seemed to be doing better. She’d said that maybe it was for the best anyway. They’d watched Love, Simon for the twentieth time and drank soda and seltzer until they fell asleep in Alice’s bed. The next day, Alice had asked Noel if she wanted to go to the county fair with her. Usually, Noel skipped it, but Alice seemed excited about it, so Noel decided to suck it up for her and go. Charlotte didn’t mind and Sam just didn’t care. 

“Hey, A,” Noel said when she got into Alice’s car. It was an old Cadillac she had gotten when she was 16 from her mom. She wore a purple shirt tucked into jeans with a sweater she’d stolen from Grace Chastity thrown over it.

“Hey, Ellie.” Alice smiled over at her. She was wearing a simple black dress and a flannel she’d stolen from Noel. Since Noel always bought her flannels too big, hers fit Alice just fine. 

“You look nice,” Noel said, blushing a bit. “Did you straighten your hair?” She buckled her seatbelt.

“A little bit,” Alice admitted with a smile. “I dunno, I’m feeling fancy today.” 

“Looking for any cute girls at the fair?” Noel teased. She didn’t know why the words left a bad taste in her mouth as she smiled. Her stomach dropped a bit when Alice laughed, putting her car in drive.

“You’re funny, Ellie.” Alice elbowed her lightly. “I’m spending the day with you, not looking for girls.” 

“Whatever you say,” Noel looked through her phone before putting it away. “So, county fair? I don’t usually go.”

“I only went once,” Alice said with a shrug. “But it was fun when I went. The crowds usually aren’t terrible this time of day.” 

“That’s good.” Noel nodded, looking outside. “It won’t be too busy.”

“Why we’re going now,” Alice agreed. “And we’re less likely to run into people we know.” 

“That’s the best part,” Noel agreed with a laugh. “I don’t  _ want _ to see anyone.”

“I know you don’t,” Alice teased. “I know you inside and out, remember?” 

“I know,” Noel smiled softly. “It’s because you’ve known me since we were seven.”

“Exactly,” Alice said softly as she pulled into the fair. She smiled over at Noel as she found a parking spot. True to her word, there weren’t a lot of cars in the parking lot, it being noon on a Tuesday. Noel felt warmth surge through her and she tried to ignore it. 

“You ready?” Alice said as she shut off her car. 

“I think so,” Noel said softly. “Are you?”

“I’m ready,” Alice said, opening the door. “This’ll be fun. I’ll win you a stuffed animal.” 

“I can try to win  _ you _ one.” Noel said, getting out and joining her as they walked towards the entrance. “I’ll buy the tickets.”

“No, it’s okay, you got lunch last week,” Alice said, going to get her wallet out of her bag. “I’ll get them.” 

“No, I can do it,” Noel protested, going for her own wallet. “Please, A? Let me do it?” 

“I’m gonna do it!” Alice said, laughing. 

“Not if I get there first.” Noel took off running. She didn’t miss doing exercise, but it was worth it. She reached the ticket booth just before Alice. 

“Two, please,” She said with a bright smile to the exhausted looking kid with glasses running the booth. 

“That’ll be $28 please,” the kid mumbled. Noel pulled out the money and paid, smiling over at Alice as the kid handed her the tickets.

“Thank you,” She said to him, putting them in her pocket.

“Uh-huh,” the kid said sleepily as Alice caught up with her. 

“I get to pay for food, then,” Alice smiled softly. “You bested me this time, but I’ll win at some point.” 

“Fine,” Noel groaned. She put her hands up. “I’ll accept that.” 

“Good,” Alice grinned. “As you should accept that.” 

Noel smiled as they walked around, looking at the bright lights and loudspeakers playing carnival music. Alice was walking next to her, their shoulders brushing together as they watched crowds of people playing games and eating cotton candy. 

“What do you think Sam and Charlotte would say if I won you that?” Alice said, pointing to a giant stuffed cat that hung in a shooting gallery booth. 

“I think Uncle Sam would think it’s stupid and to get rid of it.” Noel rolled her eyes. “He wouldn’t give a shit if it was smaller, probably.” 

“Shooting gallery, step right up!” The booth caller yelled. “Two dollars a try, ladies and gentlemen! Everybody gets a prize!” 

“I’ll get you a smaller one then.” Alice said, patting her shoulder as she stepped up and handed the guy two dollars. Noel watched as Alice took the plastic gun, took careful aim, and then began to shoot. Her aim was perfect every time. Noel was impressed. Alice hit bullseye after bullseye and soon she triumphantly turned to the booth caller. 

“Well done, young lady,” the booth caller said, gesturing to the plush toys behind him. “Take your pick!” 

“That one.” Alice pointed to a purple stuffed cat with droopy ears. “I’d like that one please.” She smiled back at Noel.

“Sure thing.” The man got her the stuffed cat toy from the shelf and handed it to her. “Come again!” 

Alice gave him a little wave before going back to Noel and presenting the cat to her with a bow. 

“For you,” she said brightly. 

“Thanks, A,” Noel smiled, holding the cat. “I’ll win you something too.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Alice said, smiling back. “Do you like it? Sorry, I should’ve let you pick.” 

“No, no, I really like it,” Noel said. “I really like purple.”

“I know you do, Ellie.” Alice smiled. “I  _ did _ help you pick out your room color.” She bumped Noel playfully with her shoulder. “Are you hungry?”

“A little bit,” She shrugged, “My meds kind of do not help the appetite.”

“Oh, shit, right,” Alice said, blushing a bit. Then her eyes lit up. “Oh my god, can we go on the carousel?” Noel smiled at Alice’s excitement. 

“Yes!” Noel grinned. “I love the carousel.”

“Let’s go,” Alice said, taking Noel’s hand and pulling her across the fairground. Noel didn’t want to think about how nice it felt having Alice’s hand in hers now. She didn’t want to think about how she didn’t want Alice to let go. She didn’t want to think about how Alice was just gorgeous, and how she was wearing  _ her _ flannel and how it probably smelled like her now.

There were only a couple of other people in line for the carousel, and a few Noel recognized. 

“Hi, Elsie.” Noel smiled as she recognized Elsabeth with her two younger siblings. Hugo looked uninterested in being there, like he looked with most things, really. He was scrolling through his phone, Lyanna, the youngest Pekkala child, tugging on his leg. Elsabeth was standing with David, keeping an eye on her while they waited.

“Ellie!” Elsabeth looked away from David for a moment to say hello to her. “I didn’t know you were coming today. I would’ve invited you if I thought you liked these things.” 

“A and I decided to last minute,” Noel smiled. “And I mean, I don’t, but I can stand a carnival for a little bit.” She smiled down at Lyanna. “Hey, sweet pea.”

“Ellie!” Lyanna scampered over to wrap her arms around Noel’s legs. “Do you wanna see what I got?” 

“Sure, sweetie,” Noel smiled, bending down to talk to Lyanna. “Let me see.” She smiled up at Alice, who was smiling down at her. 

“It’s a little polar bear!” Lyanna grinned and held up the little stuffed toy, a cute little polar bear wearing a blue hat. 

“Did Davey win it for you?” Noel suppressed a giggle at Elsabeth’s expression. 

“Yeah!” Lyanna looked up at David with admiration. “He won it at the football one. He’s  _ really _ good.” 

“I know he’s good.” Noel grinned, ruffling her hair. “You having fun today? Being good for Elle-beth?”

“Uh-huh!” Lyanna nodded firmly. “Elle-beth said I get fried dough if I’m good, and I want some!” 

“Fried dough?” Hugo suddenly looked interested. “Someone mentioned fried dough. I want some.” 

“We’ll get fried dough after this,” Elsabeth promised. “Do you two want to come with?”

“Sure,” Alice said, looking at Noel. “You down?” 

“Definitely,” Noel said, looking up at her from playing with Lyanna. Lyanna tugged on her arm for attention. 

“Ellie, Ellie, look at the pink one!” Lyanna said. 

“I see the pink one, sweet pea,” Noel smiled. “Do you wanna ride that one?”

“Yeah!” Lyanna grinned. “I think you should take the purple one,” Lyanna said, pointing at one right behind it. 

“I’ll try to get there in time,”

“Or you and Allie can ride the chariot together,” Lyanna suggested innocently. Noel’s face reddened and she sputtered to search for words. 

“Y-yeah,” Noel managed. “Um, yeah, maybe.” 

“Or Elle-beth and Davey can take it.” 

“Elle-beth and Davey can.” Noel recovered. “I’ll ride with you, Ly.”

Elsabeth discreetly flipped Noel off as Lyanna grinned up at her. Noel stuck her tongue out at Elsabeth.

“Hugo, help me up,” Noel held her hand out to grab onto Hugo.

“Do I have to?” Hugo said, sticking his tongue out at Noel. 

“Yes,” Noel and Elsabeth said together. Hugo sighed and pulled Noel to her feet before he went back to looking at his phone. 

“Thank you,” Noel said. “You were always my favorite Pekkala.” She ruffled his hair too. 

“That’s hurtful, I’m right here,” Elsabeth teased, crossing her arms. Noel flipped her off, covering Lyanna’s eyes.

“You’re nobody’s favorite,” Hugo said drily, looking up from his phone to grin at his sister. “Except maybe David’s. Or maybe his is Ly. I mean, he did win her a polar bear.” 

“Don’t bring me into this,” David grumbled, looking away from his conversation with Alice. Alice snickered as Elsabeth pretended to be offended. 

“Listen, I didn’t come here to be bullied,” Elsabeth complained as the gate opened. “Besides, I know I’m not the favorite. Dad tells me every day.” 

“Hey, no daddy issues on the carousel,” Noel smiled as she lifted Lyanna and put her on the pink horse. “If I can't talk about my array of issues, neither can you.”

“Fair enough,” Elsabeth said, climbing into the chariot next to David. They had to sit incredibly close together, she was practically in his lap because of how small the chariot was, and David was trying to hide how red his face was getting. It made Noel snicker. He shot her a look when he heard her snort as she climbed on her horse. Alice climbed on the black one next to her, strapping herself in.

“I’ll strap you in,” Alice leaned over, hugging the horse with her legs to strap Noel in. Noel had almost forgotten Alice’s gymnastics past. She still went to the gymnastics place in Clivesdale a lot, it seemed. She averted her eyes and focused on Lyanna. Lyanna was quietly talking to her horse, stroking its porcelain mane and Noel smiled. 

“She’s so cute,” Alice whispered to her as she secured the belt around Noel’s waist. 

“I know, right?” Noel looked down and quickly looked back up. Alice was a lot closer than she thought, and Noel tried to push the feeling of Alice’s hands on her waist from her head. “She's adorable.” She tried to ignore Alice that close to her. She didn’t need to think of Alice like that right now. She couldn’t ruin things between them. 

“Oh,” Alice yelped and pulled away as the ride began to move, she nearly lost her balance but pulled herself back up using her legs and arms. Noel had to focus on Lyanna, who looked overjoyed. Hugo, not so much. He sat on his horse, occasionally snickering over at the chariot. Noel couldn’t see from where she sat, which was disappointing. 

She caught Hugo’s eye and silently pointed to the chariot, asking her silent question. Hugo grinned and gave her a thumbs-up. He knew what she was asking. Noel laughed, pumping her fist in the air triumphantly. She didn’t have to listen to David whine about Elsabeth anymore on Sundays stuck in the youth group. She’d been trying to tell Elsabeth to make a move for weeks now, for her own sake, so she didn’t have to hear it. It seemed that all she’d needed to do was get them in an enclosed space together. 

“What?” Alice asked, seeing her grin.

“I don’t think we have to hear about David’s desire to make out with Elsie anymore,” Noel said. 

“Oh, thank  _ God _ ,” Alice laughed her beautiful laugh. She laughed so hard and Noel couldn’t help but blush and stare. Alice didn’t quite seem to notice Noel’s blush when she met her eyes. She just reached out for Noel’s hand. Noel quickly took it and squeezed it. 

“So glad  _ that’s _ over,” Alice said. “I was wondering how many more times I’d have to say ‘just  _ fuck _ her already.’” 

“Oh, I did the same, but with Elsie when I help babysit.”

“We give good advice,” Alice laughed. 

“We do,” Noel smiled, agreeing with her. Alice squeezed her hand as the ride began to slow down. She squeezed it back as she unbuckled herself. She didn’t want to go through that again. She did  _ not _ need her mind going there right now. Maybe later. Not now. Not while she was out with friends and the little ones. She hopped down and unbuckled Lyanna, lifting the small girl off the horse. 

“Did you have fun, Ly?” 

“That was fun!” Lyanna said, smiling with excitement. 

They met everyone else outside the carousel. David and Elsabeth looked ready to run off on their own. Hugo was scrolling through his phone while Lyanna stayed with Noel, burying her head in her side. 

“Y’know, we could take the kids off your hands for a little bit,” Noel suggested. “If you guys want to hang out for a bit kid-free.” 

“Are you sure?” Elsabeth asked. 

“Yeah, right, A?” Noel looked up at her. 

“Oh, totally,” Alice said with a smile down at Noel. “We’ll take the kids for fried dough, you guys go, y’know, exploring.” She winked at David and grinned. “Where do you wanna go, Hugo?”

“I heard fried dough, and that sounds like the best idea anyone’s had all day,” Hugo said, holding out his hand for Lyanna as Elsabeth and David walked off. Lyanna took his hand with one of hers and Noel’s in the other. 

“So fried dough and then I’m gonna win Alice something.” Noel said, squeezing Lyanna’s hand. 

“Sounds good,” Hugo said. 

The kids were fed with their fried dough, which Noel turned down kindly. 

“No, it’s alright, Ly,” she said gently. “That’s all for you. I don’t want any.” She smiled softly and kissed her head. “That’s very sweet of you to offer, though.”

“Okay,” Lyanna said. Her fried dough was practically drowned in cinnamon sugar. She must’ve used half the shaker on hers alone. Hugo had gone for powdered sugar instead, and had eaten the entire thing in about two minutes. 

“Okay, A, take your pick.” Noel said as they walked down the midway, Lyanna in Noel’s arms due to being tired after her sugar high ran out. “Then we’ll call Elsie and see what to do with Little Miss Sleepy.” She smiled at Lyanna holding the stuffed cat. 

“Sounds good.” Alice was smiling over at Noel holding Lyanna. She managed to tear her eyes away to look at the prizes. She scanned the shelves until she saw a stuffed horse hanging from the booth where you knock cans over for prizes. 

“Ooh, how about that one.” Alice pointed to it, and Noel nodded. 

“I’ll get it for you,” She had to put Lyanna down. “Sweet pea, you need to stand up. Can you do that for me?” 

“Mhm,” Lyanna mumbled sleepily. Hugo reached out his arm casually, and Lyanna went over to lean up against his side. Noel smiled softly before making her way over to the booth. 

“I’d like to play,” she said to the caller. 

“Sure thing,” the man, who seemed a little overly cheerful, but Noel supposed that was his job, said. “That’ll be three dollars please, miss.” 

Noel paid him and got the balls. She stepped back a little bit and made Lyanna hold her extras. She took a deep breath and tossed it as hard as she could into the cans to knock them down. 

They fell with a clatter and the booth caller applauded. 

“Very well done, you get a prize!” 

“I’d like the horse, please,” Noel smiled. 

The booth caller handed her the horse toy and Noel went back over to Alice. 

“For you,” She smiled, handing it over before lifting Lyanna back up and taking her phone out of her back pocket to call Elsabeth. 

“Elsie just texted me,” Hugo said. “She said she and David are over by the Ferris Wheel, but they can come this way if you want.” 

“Oh, okay, cool. Tell her we’ll meet her there, alright, kid?” Noel put her phone away. 

“You got it,” Hugo said, giving her a thumbs-up. He looked back down at his phone and typed out the message. Noel adjusted Lyanna in her arms, and she caught Alice smiling over at her. 

“What?” She asked Alice, tilting her head as Lyanna’s head buried into her neck. 

“Oh, oh, nothing.” Alice blushed and looked away. “Just having fun, that’s all.” 

Noel smiled and walked with Lyanna, whispering to her about princesses and telling her an elaborate story as they walked. Hugo was alternating between looking at his phone and grinning over at Alice, who was smiling at Noel when she wasn’t looking. 

The sun was setting as they reached the Ferris Wheel. Elsabeth and David were waiting on a bench. Noel noticed David’s sweatshirt was now on Elsabeth and she grinned. 

“Have fun?” She asked innocently. “Ly’s pretty tired.”

“Yeah, I think it might be time to wrap it up and head home,” Elsabeth said, pushing her hair out of her face. “Thanks for watching them, Ellie. I can pay you back for the fried dough if you want me to.” 

“Don’t need to,” Noel smiled. “Plus, I love my little kiddos.”

“Don’t ever call me that again,” Hugo mumbled. 

“Sure.” She kissed his head and then Lyanna’s. “Be good for your sister, okay?”

“I will,” Lyanna promised. 

“I will not,” Hugo said at the same time. Noel raised her eyebrow at him. “Kidding.” 

“Good,” Noel said. “See you guys soon?” 

“See you soon,” Elsabeth agreed. She picked Lyanna up and walked with Hugo and David back towards the parking lot. Noel smiled over at Alice. 

“I really do love them,” she said. “They’re so cute and good to me.”

“You’re good with  _ them _ ,” Alice said. “They really love you so much, it’s sweet. You’re so sweet with them.”

“Yeah,” Noel smiled. “Elsie and I used to be a thing. Just a short relationship. Five or so. You know that.”

“I know,” Alice said. “Still.” She looked up at the Ferris Wheel. “Do you, um, maybe wanna take a ride with me?” 

“Sure.” Noel said. 

“I’m paying this time,” Alice added quickly, nudging Noel lightly. 

“Fine,” Noel laughed. 

Alice went over and bought two tickets for the Ferris Wheel, and went back, and handed one to Noel. “Here you go, Ellie.” 

“Thanks.” Noel smiled. They walked up to the Ferris Wheel and got into one of the hanging baskets that the ride attendant directed them to. She hated heights, sure, but Alice liked the Ferris Wheel. Alice seemed a little more nervous now than she usually did, though. 

“Hey,” Noel said, putting a hand on Alice’s arm. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Alice smiled over at Noel. “Just, uh, thinking, is all.” 

“About what?” She asked as the wheel began to move. She focused on Alice and not the ascent. Her cheeks were pink, probably from the wind. Her mascara was a little smudged from the day. 

“Well, uh, there’s been something...that I’ve really wanted to tell someone for a really long time, and I just don’t know how to do it.” Alice looked over at Noel. 

“What is it?” Noel asked softly. 

Alice was silent for a minute as she watched the ground slowly get farther and farther away from them. Noel watched her curiously, her brow furrowed. 

“What’s wrong, A?”

“It’s a really nice sunset,” Alice said, blushing and looking out at the fair sprawled below them, and the sun slowly sinking in the sky. “You’re really pretty-I mean, it’s really pretty.” 

“Oh, um, you’re really pretty too.” Noel whispered. “And it is pretty, yeah.”

Alice seemed to be steeling her nerves. “Um, Ellie?”

“Yeah, A?” Noel looked over at her. 

“I, um, I…” Alice swallowed. “I like you. There. I said it.” she closed her eyes. “I get if you don’t feel the same way, no pressure or anything like that, but...I...um...I’ve liked you for a long time and I just...I had to say it.” Alice wouldn’t meet Noel’s eyes as she waited for her response. 

Noel leaned over and kissed her cheek gently in response. “A, I...yeah, you said it. It’s the same thing.”

“Really?” The smile that lit up Alice’s face warmed up the entire carriage. 

“Yeah,” Noel said, reaching over to take her hand. “Really.” 

“Thank God,” Alice said, her relieved laughter ringing out across the fairground. “I’ve been so worried about that for so long, and David told me I should just do it and-” Alice just cut herself off. “That makes me really happy.” 

As if the ferris wheel somehow knew what was happening, the ride stopped at the top of the circle, leaving them sitting to watch the sunset and the twinkling lights that were starting to glow. 

“So Deb...with Ziggy,” Noel said slowly. “Do you really feel that shitty about it?”

“Nah,” Alice said with a shrug. “I never saw it...working out between us, y’know?” 

“Like with Elsie and I.” Noel tapped her fingers on the railing. “Well, now we have even more reasons to have sleepovers.”

“It’s perfect,” Alice agreed. “And you don’t even have to win over my dad. He already loves you.” 

“And I don’t need you to bring you to meet my family. You already know how fucked they are.” 

“We’ll have sleepovers at my house,” Alice promised, lightly tracing her fingers over Noel’s knee. She blushed slightly and giggled, looking out over the fairground. “Hey, um, I know this is cheesy as hell, and I’m a sap, but...can I...can I kiss you?” 

“Can  _ I  _ kiss  _ you _ ?” Noel asked with a smile. 

“Yes,” Alice laughed. “Absolutely you can.” 

Noel leaned in and pressed her lips to Alice’s. The cart stayed still as Alice pulled Noel close and wrapped her arms around her. Alice was a good kisser. Noel had forgotten that. They’d kissed way back when they were 14 and little baby lesbians who knew nobody but each other. She’d been good then too. It felt so much better now, though. This was cheesy romcom levels of perfect. 

Noel pulled back after the ride finally began to move again. Alice’s hand was still lightly tracing circles on her knee. Noel slid closer to her, leaning her head against Alice’s shoulder. 

“I’m still really happy you were my first kiss and my first...you know.” 

“Me too,” Alice said softly. “I trusted you more than I trusted anyone else. I still do.” 

“Yeah,” Noel agreed. Alice leaned over and softly kissed her cheek. “I trust you so much, A. You know that.” Noel leaned herself closer to her, kissing her cheek gently. “And I always will.”

“I know,” Alice said softly. She looked over at Noel. 

Noel didn’t want this night to end. She just wanted to stay here with Alice and never go home again. 

“You can sleep over tonight if you want. My dad’ll let you.” 

“That sounds perfect.” Noel smiled. “I call the side next to the wall though.”

That night, lying in bed with Alice, wearing one of her t-shirts, Noel smiled at the ceiling with glow in the dark stars on it. Alice reached over and took Noel’s hand and squeezed it. 

“Thanks for coming with me today,” Alice said softly. 

“Thanks for taking me,” Noel whispered back. “Do we have to go to church tomorrow?”

“Oh, fuck, I didn’t even think about that,” Alice groaned. 

“I’ll just steal a dress from your closet. Do you have anything that doesn’t show literally anything above my knees?”

“Probably,” Alice said. She pulled Noel close and wrapped her arms around her. “You’re not allowed to look right now, though. You have to stay with me.” 

“Can I look a little bit?” Noel asked quietly. Alice’s kisses to the back of her neck said no. “Okay, okay, I can wait.”

“Yay,” Alice said sleepily. 

“Night, A.” Noel whispered softly. “I’m going to bed.”

“I should too,” Alice agreed, readjusting Noel in her arms. “G’night, Ellie.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment if you enjoyed! 
> 
> Tumblrs: 
> 
> @shipsthatcouldshowyouthestars  
> @memories-are-mine


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